Idea Factory, the developer of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, has announced a new title for PS4. During a panel at Anime Expo, the publisher unveiled the genre-changing RPG Death End Re;Quest, which will launch physically and digitally for Sony's console in North America and Europe in 2019.

Death End Re;Quest tells the story of video game programmer Arata Mizunashi and his colleague, Shina Ninomiya. Following Shina's mysterious disappearance, Arata discovers that she's actually trapped in an MMORPG they developed together called World's Odyssey, and the only way for her to escape is to complete the game and unlock its perfect ending--a feat that only has a 1% success rate.

Players will need to jump between the real and virtual worlds in Death End in order to unravel the mystery of World's Odyssey and help Shina escape. The game features a turn-based battle system, but it's most distinctive feature is the ability to change the game into a completely different genre during battle, such as a first-person shooter or a fighting game. Players will need to switch between different genres to gain an advantage over enemies and bosses.

Additionally, players will be able to utilize "Bug Skills" while exploring dungeons to discover otherwise inaccessible areas and bypass certain environmental obstacles, such as gliding over a pit of lava. Players will also be able to summon some of the bosses they've previously defeated into battle to help take on even more challenging foes.

So... the story is like ".hack" then? The genre-hopping mechanics sound intriguing at first, but then you remember that all of the genres need to appeal to a potential customer. And who still plays fighting games these days? Besides me, I mean...?

__________________Buying games and playing games are two different hobbies.